A site dedicated to culture with a focus on popular music; from the fringes to the forefront.

Monday, March 4, 2019

Leyla McCalla with The Special Men Cover New Orleans Standard “Eh La Bas”

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday and to kick it off early RtBE wanted to shine the spotlight on two New Orleans artists who have collaborated to tackle an old Creole song. Leyla McCalla teamed up with the King James & The Special Men to record "".

It is a great take on the tune with some fantastic banjo playing from McCalla and an "Iko Iko" finish. Listen over at American Songwriter.

Here is Leyla's take on how this recording came to be:

“A couple of years after our initial meeting, Jimmy (King James) told me about a record he was working on featuring guest New Orleans singers,” McCalla says. “He asked me if I would be interested in participating and would I be willing to sing the classic Creole New Orleans tune ‘Eh Las Bas.’ This was particularly exciting for me as it’s one of the few times that I could arrive somewhere with just my banjo and my voice. A few days before the session, I was researching all of the versions of ‘Eh Las Bas’ that I could find and came up with a version that drew from from Danny Barker, to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Kid Ory with a Haitian sounding banjo lilt.”

Special Man Industries is starting to create a fun collection of recordings, follow them and support all the artists. More from the fantastic McCalla will be appearing on RtBE very shortly, until then here are some videos from both sets of artists.